Box Score
Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey field hockey team clinched its second straight New Jersey Athletic Conference title as the Lions finished its suspended game with Ramapo College on Thursday with a 5-0 victory.
The teams took the field on Thursday for the final 29:47 after the game was suspended due to lightning on October 9. The fifth-ranked Lions held a 4-0 when the game resumed and scored the only goal when the teams retook the field .
By winning the NJAC, the Lions also secured the conference's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III Tournament marking the 27th straight year they have participated. In all, TCNJ has claimed 21 NJAC titles in the history of the conference.
The win put the Lions at 5-0 in the conference with one game remaining and dating back to last fall the team has reeled off 11 straight NJAC victories. Overall, TCNJ is 14-2. With the loss, Ramapo fell to 1-3 in the conference and 6-9 overall.
Back when the teams started play more than two weeks ago, TCNJ's Sheri Grondski (Mercerville, NJ/Nottingham) opened the scoring off of a nice give-and-go with Mary Waller (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright). That goal came 5:09 into the contest. That goal was the first of Waller's career.
The Lions then reeled off three goals in a span of 4:54 with junior Katie Reuther (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) getting the first unassisted with freshman Leigh Mitchell (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) making it a 3-0 knocking in a rebound. The final goal of the half came 11:53 left before the break as Waller tallied on a pass from Grondski.
Once play resumed, the lone goal came from Mitchell when she knocked in a pass from Reuther with just less than 15 minutes left on the clock.
In goal for the Lions, junior Caitlin Gregory (Winslow, NJ/Eastern) did not face a shot to earn her eighth shutout of the season.
Sophomore goalie Megan Tierney (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) made 10 saves for the Roadrunners.
The Lions face a tough test on Sunday, October 28 heading to eighth-ranked SUNY Cortland for a 1 p.m. start with the Red Dragons. The Roadrunners will continue NJAC play on Saturday hosting Rowan University at 1 p.m.
